Save Cents by Staying Informed

Money makes the world go around. Every day, it seems harder and harder to stretch our dollars. Some are digging for stray cents in sofa cushions. What are some money saving tips? Is it true that we can save cents by staying informed? We will answer these questions and more in this consumer guide on saving money.

Knowledge is Power

Make your money-saving fun. You could create different time period goals:

short term – ice cream

medium term – spa treatment

long term – vacation

The original term, “economics,” referred to “home economics” – how families

manage their budgets. People have credits and debits. The discussion on credits might be for another day, but we will discuss how you can optimize your limited funds.

How can you save money? We believe these are the primary ways that you can save money:

Bulk

Generics

Stores

Go Without

Now, we will discuss how staying informed can help you save money in each category.

Bulk Purchasing

Bulk purchasing includes sales, discounts, BOGO and shopping at a special club. Of course, sales and discounts are more of a factor of timing, but the concept is the same. You can lower prices by buying at the right time. You have probably noticed the vast range of prices available for sales. Smart consumers stock up during sales.

When you do your research before you reach the store, you will know when sales are taking place. As you make informed purchases, you can create a domino effect. You will save more money and already have the merchandise on your home shelves. Next time, you won’t need to purchase those items.

Staying informed allows you to be more efficient while shopping. You can simply ignore certain aisles. You don’t need to waste time on overpriced merchandise. You don’t need to buy products after their prices go up, because you don’t have any at home. Gradually, informed decisions turn you into a smart shopper.

Cheap Generics

Comparing prices and cutting coupons are two common methods for trimming cents. But, how do you know where the best prices are? You can find both paper and electronic coupons for brand names and generics. Of course, generics are cheaper than brand names. Why? Because, generics don’t spend $1 million for a 15-second Super Bowl spot.

If you own a desktop computer, then you probably have a spreadsheet program that can be used to develop better money habits. List all the prices from your grocery receipt, along with the store. Which products are cheaper at which store? This enables you to account for every solitary cent.

Go Without

The desperate move is to simply not buy your Haagen Dazs ice cream or expensive java. Of course, this is not fun; if you stay informed, you might not reach this point.

Money Saving Apps

That is all-well-and-good, but who has the time to do all of the critical calculations to find the lowest prices? The answer is money saving apps. The DollarBird app automatically calculates the cents that you have saved. You can list prices for merchandise at different stores. You can look up your budget on-the-fly. Display your spending by organizing past, present and recurring expenditures. Find out how much you spend each month.

Good Sense to Save Cents

If Google can identify your location, can’t an app find the lowest prices for merchandise in your neighborhood? Yes. The best money saving apps can combine geo-location with crowdsourcing. Consumers share the prices spent at different stores in real-time. This allows you to find the best deals.

People might receive rewards, credits, tokens or cryptocurrency for sharing their shopping reviews. You could probably do the same. Some of the other popular money-saving apps include Basket Savings, iBotta or Favado. You can get cash back immediately with iBotta.

Have some fun. You might be able to find BOGO events faster with one of these money-saving apps. Over time, you can make two separate lists for two separate stores. You can purchase the lowest merchandise at the store offering the lowest prices. Go get ’em!

And, when you save those cents, they add up. There are apps with a feature called ‘Found Money’. When you save money, it is like you found a penny on the street. Save up those cents and they might pay off at the end of the year. You could reward yourself handsomely with the proceeds. And, boy do you deserve it!